Chapter 116: Senior, You're Reading Smut!
According to protocol, Uzui Tengen—being the more experienced and higher-ranked
member—should have been the temporary commander of this operation.
But the "Flashy Lord" simply raised an eyebrow. His gaze lingered on the warm,
white jade tablet hanging beneath Natsuya's haori. Having joined the Corps
purely because of the Ubuyashiki patriarch, he knew exactly what that crest
represented.
"The Master's personal token... as expected of the man I've designated as my
'Flashy Rival'."
The ninja's tone was a mix of acknowledgment and teasing.
"You take the lead on this one, Kokonoe. It'll let my own flashy brain save some
processing power for the fight."
Natsuya shrugged, tossing the mission scroll to the other two. "Commander or
not, it's all the same to me. Just leave the 'Last Hit' to me. Here, check the
intel."
This guy... his obsession with delivering the final blow is bordering on
pathological, the two thought simultaneously.
They opened the scroll, their expressions quickly turning grim. The demon
seemed... complicated.
"Talk while we move. We'll start at the site where the Slayers first went MIA,"
Natsuya directed. He naturally began his tactical analysis.
"If it doesn't have a direct-damage Blood Demon Art, I suspect it's using a
high-potency neurotoxin or some kind of localized plague. But the 'possibility
of human accomplices' note is what bugs me."
Any swordsman with actual field experience knew that demons were territorial
predators. They were bound by rigid "Instinctive Codes." You almost never saw
them grouping up. Aside from the Final Selection—where they were forced into
proximity by wisteria—demons were solitary wolves.
The idea of them having "many helpers" was an anomaly.
"So the helpers... are likely human. Right, Kokonoe?" Uzui chimed in.
Natsuya nodded. Multiple Kakushi reports confirmed human footprints at various
scene perimeters. There were even signs of non-combat coordination—moving
objects, scrubbing bloodstains, masking trails. But these "helpers" stayed on
the edges. In the core combat zones, there wasn't even a scratch on the walls.
"Human help? That's insane," Sabito muttered, his brow furrowed. "Why would a
human help a demon?"
"Fox-boy," Uzui said, his voice dropping an octave. "Human malice can be just as
dark as a demon's. Sometimes darker."
The ninja, born from a clan of assassins and used to the filth of the
underworld, understood this better than anyone.
"Kokonoe, you think they're being coerced? Or maybe drugged?"
"If we're assuming it's an Elite's Blood Demon Art, it's probably brainwashing
or hypnosis," Natsuya replied. "Stay sharp. If we run into the Boss, watch for
'Triggers.' Swing pendulums, pocket watches, finger snaps—anything that feels
like a rhythmic cue."
"Also, don't let our vision overlap too much. Sabito, you stay in the rear-flank
of Tengen and me. If our animations look like they're looping or if we start
acting like bots, knock us out of it immediately."
Natsuya then began a "Modern Gamer's Guide to Breaking Hypnosis." He talked
about "totems"—spinning a coin or a top to see if the physics were consistent—or
intentionally trying to fall backward to trigger a "Weightlessness Reflex" to
snap the brain back to reality. He even suggested finding a corner and relieving
oneself to trigger a biological "Emergency Wake-up."
Senior Natsuya... really knows a lot about brain-washing techniques, Sabito
thought with a mix of awe and concern.
Uzui was more blunt: "Where the hell did you learn 'Urination-based Hypnosis
Defense'?"
Natsuya looked away, his eyes darting toward a non-existent corner of the
screen. "Ahem. I... uh... read it in some books. Research material."
The two exchanged a look. They had the distinct feeling Natsuya was leaving out
the title of the "books" in question.
"Anyway," Natsuya continued, "if it's a sensory-based Art, we should split our
inputs. I'll close my eyes and rely on my [Hearing] and [Instinct]. Tengen, you
plug your ears and go pure [Visual]. Sabito, you act as the 'Fail-safe' and
retreat if we both get CC'd (Crowd Controlled)."
"Or have the crow deliver the—wait."
Natsuya froze mid-sentence.
"Senior? What is it?" Sabito asked.
"Nothing," Natsuya's mouth twitched into a tiny smirk. "I just thought of
something... funny."
He was looking at a new skill notification.
[Life Skill Unlocked: Command LV.0] (NEW)
I can unlock 'Life Skills' just by acting like a Raid Leader? This game is
broken.
The investigation that night yielded no demon sighting. Undeterred, the trio
used the daylight hours to conduct a covert, three-pronged investigation across
Nagoya.
Natsuya focused on using his [Insight] and HUD-vision. He hit the most crowded
districts, scanning for ordinary citizens with "Mind Control" or "Hypnosis"
status debuffs.
Sabito, relying on his youthful, non-threatening appearance, successfully
infiltrated the local gang hideouts. He leaned on the "Street Thugs" to find out
if any weird cults or large groups of "zombie-like" people had been gathering
recently.
Uzui Tengen, following Natsuya's "Analytical Criminology" advice, focused on
victim profiling. He analyzed the travel patterns and social circles of the
missing persons to find a "Convergence Point."
"Every action leaves a footprint," Natsuya had told him. "They might have been
different people, but they all walked into the same trap at some point."
Gradually, clues that hadn't been in the initial scroll began to surface.
Doctors at several small clinics mentioned patients suffering from terminal
illnesses who kept muttering about "The beautiful house" or "Thanking the
gentleman in the black suit."
The gang members, after some "aggressive negotiation," admitted they'd seen a
weird man dressed like a foreign butler roaming the outer districts at night. He
was often followed by several young men with clean clothes but hollow, "vacant"
eyes.
Furthermore, a local orphanage reported the disappearance of several "problem
children" who were socially isolated.
The threads were starting to weave together.
Natsuya felt a sharp sense of familiarity. Wait... a 'Miracle Doctor' in a black
suit ensnaring the desperate? This feels like another Lower Moon trying to play
god.
Deep within a Nagoya Estate.
The room was dim despite the daylight outside. Heavy velvet curtains were drawn
tight, and the air was thick with the scent of hundreds of flickering,
sputtering candles.
The orange glow painted the expensive paintings and ornate decorations with a
grotesque, shifting shadow-play.
The master of this mansion was currently on his knees, head pressed against the
floor before a man with red-tipped hair dressed in a tailored black suit.
"You say... three more Slayers have arrived in the city to find me?"
The voice was masculine, yet held a sickly, melodic sweetness that made one
question the speaker's true nature.
"A boy in a unique haori, a tall silver-haired man, and one with a fox mask?"
"Hehe... well done. That information is quite useful."
The suited man leaned down, his fingers gently tilting the kneeling man's chin
up. Even though the "Butler" was wearing a polite, friendly smile, the master of
the house was shaking with uncontrollable dread.
Terrified, yet he refuses to flee...
The demon narrowed his eyes. Deep within his iridescent pupils, specific kanji
were engraved. He stroked the man's hair like one would a frightened pet.
"What a good boy."
"Tonight... you shall have a truly beautiful dream."
The man squeezed his eyes shut, not daring to make a sound. But his mind was
seared with the image of the demon's horizontal, goat-like pupils—and the
terrifying rank engraved in the other eye:
[LOWER TWO]
The touch on his face vanished.
The man opened his eyes cautiously. The suited demon was gone. The candles were
still burning, but their frantic flickering had stopped. The flames were
steady... eerily so.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound made the man jump. "Who... who is it?!"
The sliding door was pushed open slowly. Standing there wasn't a servant or a
monster. It was the two people he saw in his dreams every single night.
"Papa, it's me."
"Santaro, we're home."
His wife and his beloved daughter.
His terror was instantly overwritten by a tidal wave of shock and ecstatic joy.
Tears blurred his vision as he scrambled forward, throwing his arms around them,
terrified that if he let go for even a second, they would vanish.
"I missed you... I missed you both so much..."
As he wept, his "dead" wife and child looked at him with confused, hollow
smiles.
In the dark room filled with the smell of wax, the demon in the suit watched the
unconscious Santaro. The corners of his mouth curled into a cold, supernatural
arc.
"Sleep tight. It is a beautiful dream, after all."
☆☆☆
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